December 2004

Wednesday, December 1, 2004
December Social and “The 16th Minute”
The University of Texas at Dallas

BIG DOOR PRIZES!

Registration begins at 4:30pm
Social 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Speaker at 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Mark your calendar for the December 1st social at The University of Texas at Dallas! This meeting will begin at 5 p.m. with hot hors d'oeuvres and beer, wine and sodas. The speaker starts at 6:00pm.

Stick around for the door prize drawing at 7:00. The grand prize drawing is a weekend night for two including breakfast at a local resort! Remember that you must be present to win!

Doug Caldwell, the Success Facilitator, will present "The 16th Minute," create a personal brand so you will be famous for more than 15 minutes! Lacking a personal brand you are labeled a commodity resource. Someone offering ordinary opportunities, rather than the one creating performance improvement that brings results. Learn how to make your personal brand strong and creditable to attract resources from decision makers. Evaluate yourself to three factors that intersect to create a brand. Launch your brand by completing a proven six-step process. This fast-paced, highly interactive session will make you a “smashing success” as you:

(1) take specific and measurable steps to improve your brand recognition,
(2) learn and share with others the creation of your personal brand, and
(3) enjoy an energetic experience to extend your fame beyond 15 minutes.

Please help us usher in the Holiday Season with a fun and interactive event!

Doug Caldwell is The Success Facilitator™ who helps others exchange information for ideas to achieve their success. For example a retailer that has to park 700 vehicles daily and only has 600 parking spaces or improving manufacturing output by 2,200%.

He was with Maritz Performance Improvement Company in their project with Cadillac dealerships to sell more cars and exceed customer expectations. This work resulted in a 1,000-car increase in retails sales and customer satisfaction above all other General Motor’s dealerships nationwide. Another success was helping a family owned dealership discover they didn’t know where they were going as a business and their employees were not involved. The improvement was coaching the leadership team to create company vision and mission statements.

Doug has used his task oriented, problem solving ability for continuous improvement with the U.S. government, retail, manufacturing, nonprofit and family owned organizations affecting thousands of adults and youth. His professional career started with enlistment in the Marines serving in the ranks of private to captain.

After military service, Texas Instruments employed him in various manufacturing, quality assurance, and customer service positions. At TI he:

• Reduced manufacturing cycle time by 30%
• Achieved cost saving in excess of $25,000 annually
• 18% reduction in manufacturing defects for defense systems
• 10% annual growth in new customers being served

Doug earned his BA and MBA degrees from Chapman College and the University of Dallas, respectively, while attending night school. His professional membership includes Dallas ASTD, where he is vice-president for programs. Doug was chairman of a fund raising effort for the Boy Scouts of America which exceeded the goal by 123%. He has completed the Dallas White Rock Marathon every year since 1982.

Doug’s effort is to address the journey rather than the destination. Clients already know the answers to their future improvements. But at times a facilitator is needed for people to bring out their own solutions. An ideal client would be either inspired or dissatisfied with their current situation, have a vision of future success and ready for the first-steps.

This meeting is being held at University of Texas at Dallas, School of Management, Executive Dining Room.

Map to UTD is at http://www.utdallas.edu/pdf/campusmap.pdf.

Preferred Method:

The best method to place and confirm your reservation is via the web site at http://www.dallasiia.org/Reserve.htm.

Secondary Method:

An optional method is to use the telephone, fax, or e-mail. However, a $2 phone/fax/e-mail fee will be assessed to each reservation.

Reservations must be received by noon on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 or a $5 late fee will be charged.

We reserve the right to bill for "no-shows."

We Now Accept Credit Cards - Online Only

The IIA Dallas Chapter, in conjunction with PayPal, will now accept payment online for the monthly luncheons. There is no change in the cost to you for the lunch. We accept VISA, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, or eCheck. Note that some corporate-issued cards are not accepted by PayPal. This service is only available online at the time the reservation is made. This can be used to pay for individual or group reservations. Follow the instructions on our website. If you properly cancel a reservation before the meeting, the Chapter will either return the funds to you or reserve you for the next meeting. Any questions, contact Melinda Lokey at 214-473-3823 or melinda.lokey@triadhospitals.com.

After you place your reservation online, you will see the link to pay via PayPal if desired.

Chapter News

CIA Exam Review Course - Mark your calendars!

A CIA Review Course will be held for those interested in sitting for the May 2005 CIA Exam.  The course will be held at The University of Texas at Dallas School of Management Building, February 4-7, 2005.  Part I will be on February 4; Part II, February 5; Part III, February 6; and Part IV, February 7.  Dr. Glen Sumners, from Louisiana State University, will be the instructor.  Detailed course information and on-line registration will be available in December 2004.  Watch the Dallas Chapter Web site for more details, or contact Toni Messer at tmesser@utdallas.edu or 972-883-2693.

IIA Research Foundation

The IIA Research Foundation has recently published a report entitled Changing Internal Audit Practices in the New Paradigm: The Sarbanes-Oxley Environment. This research report explores how the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is impacting internal auditors, public accounting firms, and public companies – all of which play a vital role in shaping the internal audit environment. Sarbanes-Oxley is probably the most significant law affecting public companies and public accounting firms since the passage of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It is truly a paradigm shift for those companies and accounting firms that have had to implement major changes in their organizations and how they do business.

This research report will:

• Provide an overview of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the research objectives, research methodology, and its impact on the profession.
• Include individual case studies that summarize the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley act on parties affected, as well as the interactions that occur.
• Illustrate how unprecedented opportunities have arisen for internal auditors to increase their visibility, status, and value in their companies.
• Encourage you to take a proactive role in Sarbanes-Oxley activities, making internal audit a valuable part of the company’s movement toward Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.
• Show how internal auditors changed their image from that of the company police officers to that of company partners.

It is in paperback form and totals 297 pages. You can order it online at – www.theiia.org/iia/index.cfm?act=form.bookstore, or calling toll free 1-877-867-4957. (Publication order # 503; IIA member price – $75; nonmember price - $85).

Endorsed Internal Audit Program Update at the University of Texas at Dallas

Contemporary Audit Courses

The Internal Audit Program at UTD is coming to the end of the third semester and we are adding new courses every semester. This semester we had the first Forensic Accounting Investigation course with a strong group of students who are in the Endorsed Internal Audit Program. These students should be prepared to take the Certified Fraud Examiner’s exam. This course along with a new one starting in the spring of 2005 is meant to meet the needs of the program and practitioners looking for courses on contemporary internal audit issues. The additional course for the spring is Analytical Techniques using Audit Software which will cover ACL, IDEA and other software techniques such as Access and Excel. Both of these courses were added to meet the future needs of auditors in detecting fraud and better utilize technology to do their job. We are fortunate to have practitioners with over 15 years experience in these areas teaching the courses.

This past month we had a number of exciting speakers to keep the theme of contemporary audit issues. We started the month joining the Corporate Governance class to hear the latest on the PCAOB from the Deputy Director of the Inspections Group, Dennis Jennings. That was followed up by Al Bazis from Dallas Area Rapid Transit and Kathryn Barton from Lone Start Technology speaking on latest in Control Self Assessment. The semester concluded with Clint McPherson on the State of the Union related to Enterprise Risk Management. A lot of students were also able to fit in the CIA exam after completing a research project on SOX. We are looking forward to meeting the members’ needs by having UTD be the new home for all CIA exams and review sessions going forward.

With all the time pressures going on this next month, please take the time to make the Chapter meeting December 1. I think you will find it a lot of fun and an opportunity to spend more time networking with audit professionals. A lot of members are working to put together a night that will be a lot of fun at UTD. At that meeting you will get to meet most of the students in the Program.

The Student Chapter resumes are now available on the IIA Student Chapter Web site at www.utdallas.edu/orgs/iia. If you are interested in any of the students for full time positions or internships, you can set up interviews on campus or you can contact the students directly. Also, additional students will be entering the Program in January. For more information, please contact Mark Salamasick at 972-883-4729 or mark.salamasick@utdallas.edu.

Report Your Speaking and Writing

It's time again for the survey to determine which IIA Dallas Chapter members have submitted articles or spoken in November, or earlier if not reported. Each speaking engagement on internal auditing that a Dallas Chapter member completes will earn the Chapter 1 credit per CPD hour. Each full article, Roundtable article, Fraud Finding, etc. submitted that meets basic editorial guidelines will earn 5 credits. For each full article published 20 credits are earned. Each internal audit related article published in any other trade or professional journal that is authored by a chapter member is 5 credits.

To report your writing and speaking go to http://dallasiia.org/Speaking.htm and complete the provided form by December 15, 2004. Contact Magdalena Kovats (214-777-0581 or magdalena.kovats@resources-us.com) if you have any questions.

Career Opportunities

Are you currently in the job market either voluntarily or involuntarily? Let the Employment Committee help you. Send us your resume and we will include you in our resume database. We receive calls from recruiters and hiring managers for open positions and will forward your resume if there is a match. We get calls for staff to director levels, IT to finance, local to out of town. All inquiries will be handled confidentially. If you have any questions, give us a call or e-mail us. We look forward to helping you.

Fred Herman, Employment Committee Chairman, 972-801-1208, fsjnherman@aol.com.

Triad Hospitals, Inc., through its affiliates, owns and manages hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers in small cities and selected larger urban markets. The Company currently has 52 hospitals (including one under construction) and 14 ambulatory surgery centers in 15 states with approximately 8,340 licensed beds. In addition, through its QHR subsidiary, the Company provides hospital management, consulting and advisory services to more than 200 independent community hospitals and health systems throughout the United States.

SENIOR AUDITOR

Description

Senior staff level position established to assist management in identifying, analyzing and managing risks and opportunities, including:

• Conducting work in the field and in the office to accomplish audit objectives identified during risk analyses.
• Conducting Sarbanes-Oxley related testing activities
• Conducting audit follow-up activities.
• Communicating results of audit projects to management and operations personnel directly involved with department projects, and as requested, to company senior management and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.
• Adhering to the department's quality assurance process for planning, analysis, and documentation and reporting on all audit projects.

Education: Bachelors degree in business or healthcare-related field.

Skills: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, written and verbal.

Experience: Minimum three years prior experience.

Special Requirements: Professional certifications such as CPA, CIA, and/or CISA desirable. Familiarity with personal computer operations.

AUDIT MANAGER

Job Description

Manager level position established to assist management in identifying, analyzing and managing risks and opportunities, including:

• Assisting with periodic risk analyses to facilitate identification
  of audit projects.
• Development of project-level plans based on overall risk assessment
  results.
• Development of Sarbanes-Oxley related testing
• Conducting work in the field and in the office to accomplish audit
  objectives identified during risk analyses.
• Conducting audit follow-up activities.
• Communicating results of audit projects to management and operations personnel directly involved with department projects, and as requested, to company senior management and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.
• Adhering to the department's quality assurance process for planning, analysis, and documentation and reporting on all audit projects.

Job Requirements

Education: Bachelors and/or masters degree in business or healthcare-related field.

Skills: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, written and verbal.

Experience: Minimum five years experience, preferably audit/accounting in healthcare.

Special Requirements: Professional certification such as CPA, CIA, and/or CISA desirable.

Contact:

Melinda K. Lokey, CPA
melinda.lokey@triadhospitals.com
Manager, Triad Hospitals Audit Services
5800 Tennyson Parkway
Plano, TX 75024

Phone 214-473-3823

Is your talent challenged today?

Talented people with perpetual potential… Working together to deliver exceptional results

Audit Coordinator-No Travel

BASIC FUNCTION

This position is responsible for coordinating all audits, including those from Internal Audit, Ernst & Young and other outside firms. Assists in the evaluation of internal controls in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

RESPONSIBILITIES/DUTIES

Essential Functions –

1. Coordinates all audit activities for the Finance Dept for internal and external audits.
2. Maintains Sarbanes-Oxley internal controls documentation as required by Corporate guidelines.
3. Assists with the ABC audits of circulation.
4. Coordinates the process of providing documentation requested by auditors.
5. Serves as the primary resource for audits and controls assessments.
6. Assists in evaluating internal controls in areas audited in accordance with generally acceptable accounting principles.
7. Summarizes findings identified in completed audits.
8. Develops workable recommendations to correct identified findings.
9. Develops drafts of internal control questionnaires and work programs.
10. Drafts management responses to audit recommendations.
11. Inspects accounting systems to determine their efficiency and protective value.

JOB SPECIFICATIONS

Submit resumes to:

Charles Henderson
dmnjobs@dallasnews.com

The Dallas Morning News values diversity and inclusiveness and is an Equal Opportunity Employer

AAA Texas, a provider of auto and home insurance as well as roadside assistance and travel services is growing rapidly in Texas and New Mexico areas. Our financially secure, not-for-profit organization has a 100 year history of integrity and trust and we believe in rewarding top performers. We are now seeking an experienced Internal Auditor II for our Regional Offices in Irving, TX.

This position will be responsible for performing operational, financial and compliance audits in Texas, New Mexico, Northern New England and Southern California for the various business units of the Auto Club and its family of companies. Additionally, this position will be accountable for performing internal investigations, and working with operational areas in a consultative role and presenting findings to executive management. Requires approximately 15-20% travel.

Qualifications include 2-4 years of audit experience. We are seeking an individual with excellent communication, presentation, analytical and evaluation skills. Certification a plus.

We offer advancement opportunities, an excellent benefit package including health, life, pension and 401K plans. Our state of the art facility boasts an onsite cafeteria and onsite fitness center.

Please take a look at our website for more information at AAA-Texas.com. Email resumes to Stephanee Talley at talley.stephanee@aaa-texas.com.

AAA, Texas is an equal opportunity employer.